A conventional connector for an IC pack or memory card includes a generally U-shaped connector assembly having guide grooves inside a pair of side portions, with a connecting section joining or extending between the side portions. A planar IC pack is inserted into the connector between the side portions. A transverse array of socket terminals at an edge of the IC pack electrically interconnect with an associated array of pin terminals on the connecting section.
Such connectors often are provided as headers used for interconnecting the semi-conductor circuit of the IC pack to an external circuit such as a main electronic unit. The header may be used with an IC pack or memory card for removably coupling the IC pack to a printed circuit board. The IC pack is inserted into the header and is extracted therefrom as needed.
One of the problems with IC pack connectors of the character described above, particularly in headers employed with printed circuit boards, is that the insertion or extraction of the IC packs with respect to the connectors can interfere with ongoing processes or interrupt data transfer, for example, between the IC pack and the main electronic unit. Furthermore, a program or a user may not be alerted to the fact that an IC pack or memory card is not present which is needed for certain processes.
Switches have been designed into connectors for the purpose of detecting the presence of an IC pack or memory card. Several such designs have been incorporated into card readers, such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,900,272, 4,900,273 and 5,013,255. These designs use an "end of stroke" contact to detect the position and/or full insertion of the card within the connector. However, such designs are not easily adaptable to pin and socket type memory card interfaces such as is defined by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association ("PCMCIA") standards. In the card reader connectors of the prior art, the "end-of-stroke" contact is positioned at the rear of the card slot. This is practical in such connectors because it does not interfere with the mating contact interface, since the card reader contacts are typically mounted in the base of the connector housing and the forces are exerted on the card perpendicular to the direction of insertion. However, in pin and socket type cards, where the mating contact interface is at the rear of the card slot, and the forces exerted between the mating contacts are opposite the direction of insertion, this type of "end-of-stroke" contact is impractical. First, the "end-of-stroke" contact at the rear of the card slot would interfere with and/or obstructed by the mating contact interface, and, second the forces exerted by the "end-of-stroke" contact would increase the insertion forces of the card itself, opposing the frictional force of the contacts. Accordingly, such a structure is not useful for the PCMCIA applications.
Another design for detecting the insertion and/or extraction of an IC pack or memory card within a card slot is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,363 and assigned to the assignee of this invention. However, the switch design as disclosed is for use only with a card ejecting mechanism wherein the movement of the actuator or push rod closes the switch in response to the movement of the card.
Applicants' invention is directed to a connector having a switch wherein the switch is actuated in direct response to the insertion of an IC pack into the connector. Therefore, the switch can be used to shut down various processing upon insertion of the IC pack into the connector and to otherwise detect the presence of an IC pack and alert a user of the same. The switch is incorporated in the path of insertion of the IC pack so that modifications to standard IC packs and the interfacing of the packs with the connector do not have to be made.